Putney Financial Group LLC Sells 186 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Putney Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 186 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.9% of Putney Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Putney Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,082 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,369,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,035 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Westpark Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $349.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $543,263.22. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. This trade represents a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,111 shares of company stock valued at $9,299,283. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $260.79 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $268.51 and its 200 day moving average is $297.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Salesforce Profile

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.